"Alien vs Predator"
"Alien Vs Predator"
"AVP" is set in the year 2004, where a group of archaeologists spanning the world over are gathered by one Mr. Wayland, played by "Alien" staple, the obviously aging Lance Henriksen. After picking up an unusual heat pattern in the middle of the Antarctic, Wayland funds this group of up and coming scientists to aid his research.
The group of rag tag explorers delve deep, hundreds of feet under the surface of Antarctica, where they stumble upon what looks to be a Mayan/Aztec temple. In the hunter's backstory, Alien pods were actually brought to the temple by the Predators, and used as guinea pigs for the Predator youth to hunt, and gain experience, as part of their right of passage. Needless to say, it's payback time.
Going into the movie, soon after learning of it's PG-13 rating, I lost a lot of hope for the movie initially. What I got was 100 minutes of rock em,' sock 'em, Sci Fi eyecandy.
The acting, while not the draw of the movie, pushed the movie along quite nicely. It was reminiscent of the previous "Alien" movies; the typical "group exploration" plot. This time, no corny one-liners, no overacting, and they were equipped with the most primitive of weapons. It added a nice dose of realism that was lacking in the other 2 franchises respective sequels.
As for the CGI, I feared that like so many other newer Sci Fi flicks, men in suits had gone the way of the dinosaur. Not so, the new costume design of the Young Predator crew was fantastic, especially the updated oxygen masks. The Dog Aliens, thankfully, were just as I remembered them in "Alien 3." The overall special effects remained true to the original movies, which I appreciated. i.e. Predator's cloaking, the plasma cannon explosions, etc.)
Ahhhh. The "showdown." It's fair to say that the two species were evenly matched, which may surprise some of you. Of course, there is the issue of the 5 Predator youth undergoing their right of passage, and being green to hunting, as well as being subsequently outnumbered, thanks in part to the Alien Queen
Spoiler:
who was in status underground before being revived by electrocution, gearing up the Alien pod factory once again.
Surprisingly, there was a lot of dismemberment, gore, and elements of all out war in this flick, thanks to the respective creatures having acidic and green blood being somewhat exempt from the MPAA ratings system. Oh, of course, there was a ton of action, most of which was delivered in the 3rd act.
The movie even had some character development! Playing on Predator's creed of hunting for sport only, Sanaa Lathan, the lead character, in a tense scene where she's in an isolated corridor
Spoiler:
attempts to befriend the Predator youth by sacrificing one of their plasma cannons, in which Wayland had taken as a souvenir. In doing so, the Predator understood she meant no harm. The two were ambushed by an Alien, which she took out on her own, solidifying her "enemies enemy is my friend" approach. In turn, Predator expressed gratitude by making crude weapons for her from the Alien's remains.
Of course, anticipation coupled with set up in the first act of the movie kind of had me a little squirmy, knowing what I REALLY came to see the movie for. There were typical lulls in dialogue, as well a little tension stemming from a cast of virtual unknowns. All subsequent qualms and uneasiness faded away soon after I saw a gang of 3 Predators, an a Infared scan of the temple, and it's "surprise guests." There was a very "old school" feeling throughout this movie which patched up the bumps in the road, which are standard in Sci Fi cinema, as well as most summer blockbusters.
Overall, there's no need to recommend this to Alien and Predator fans. Your tickets were bought days in advance. Everyone else? If you're just looking for some more mindless summertime Sci Fi fun, I recommend you see "AVP," ASAP.
8/10